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Program-Best Start With Two Wins Saturday

BY
Zach Lawson February 24, 2018

MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. – The University of Arkansas softball team posted a pair of five-inning wins Saturday at the Madeira Beach Invitational to improve to 9-0 this season which marks the best start in program history. The Razorbacks tallied five home runs on the day including two off the bat of freshman catcher Kayla Green while Autumn Storms and Mary Haff each recorded a win in the circle.

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Arkansas is set to close out the Madeira Beach Invitational on Sunday morning against McNeese. First pitch of the weekend finale is scheduled for 8 a.m. CT on Field 3 at R.O.C. Park. Sunday’s game will be the first meeting between Arkansas and McNeese since the 1999 season.

The Razorbacks wasted no time in jumping out to an early—and big—lead. With senior Autumn Buczek on first after a lead-off bunt single, freshman Hannah McEwen lined an RBI triple into the corner in right field to plate Arkansas’ first of nine first-inning runs. A couple of two-run homers, one by Green and another by McEwen, were the big shots in the frame. Eight hits, one sacrifice fly and an error later, the Razorbacks led 9-0 heading into the second.

In the circle, Storms faced a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the second inning but limited the damage to just one run for the Blue Hens. Freshman Linnie Malkin pushed the advantage back to nine runs with a solo homer in the bottom of the second inning. The home run was her third of the season, and Arkansas’ third of the game.

Delaware threatened to chip away at its deficit with two on and nobody out in the fourth but Storms responded with a couple ground balls and a strikeout to keep a run from crossing the plate. Junior Katie Warrick worked the fifth inning and secured the run-rule victory by inducing a 6-4-3 double play to end the game.

On her way to a one-hit performance, Haff was in full control in the circle and struck out seven of the first nine hitters she faced. She worked another 1-2-3 inning in the fourth with the help of a diving catch by Loren Krzysko in center field and two ground balls to the left side of the infield. Haff was one out away from a perfect game but an error followed by a base hit up the middle gave Villanova two on but the freshman pitcher got the next hitter to pop out to end the game.

While their pitcher was keeping the opposing bats quiet, the Razorbacks broke it open with a five-run third frame featuring a three-run shot by Krzysko. Later in the inning, Sydney Parr had a two-run single to center to cap her team’s scoring. She finished the game with two hits and three RBI against the Wildcats. Green hit her second home run of the day, a solo shot, in Arkansas’ three-run fourth inning.

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